Chainsaw Repair

IMHO there is nothing wrong with your technique.

You may try to increase the idle speed some and slowly work your way down to the proper idle.

There are some other factors that enter into the picture? The proper idle speed for a unknown chainsaw is just below the point where the chain starts to turn but with a bad clutch this isn't going to happen.

With a unknown chainsaw with the needles set at the factory setting, the saw should run good enough that you could use though you suspect it may not be completely correct.

If your saw runs terrible with the factory settings, then the carburetor either needs diaphragms or the saw has an air leak such as bad crankshaft seals.

Is the one turn out on the needles what you read in the manual? Some saws are two turns out?